Jetties for Oregon Inlet: My View

The Outer Banks of North Carolina--a rare gem; an environmental wonder, complete with natural beauty and wildlife. It's a wonder worth protecting. This is true.

Perhaps it's a place where man should pull his hands away and let nature take its course. Perhaps we should protect its natural beauty. Perhaps..Perhaps..Perhaps it's too late for Perhaps.

October 2010 image of Oregon Inlet

Have you noticed that Oregon Inlet is filling up with sand? If you haven't been out in a boat navigating the inlet, then you may not. And, there, my friends (and maybe foes by the end of the post) lies the problem. The inlet is shoaling over.

It's too late for the hands-off approach. It's not possible to let nature take its course.

Why? It's simple: The Hebert C. Bonner Bridge. On the bridge, perhaps some drivers and passengers marvel at the beauty below, missing the significance of the shifting sand. Below, the treacherous inlet is even more treacherous as captains navigate the inlet. The problem: Once upon a time, someone built a bridge with a narrow middle span for navigation. This narrow corridor was set in stone (literally)--it's not moving, but the inlet is. As the sand shifts below, the corridor doesn't. So what happens to the corridor? Where do the boats pass through? What now? you ask.

BUILD A JETTY, I say. Build a jetty and make Oregon Inlet look like the Palm Islands of Dubai if needed. (Yes, I'm using a bit of hyperbole here. I'd even say to build it out of plastic bags if that would work. Yes, more hyperbole and a little bit of local humor.) But there needs to be a jetty built. It needs to be built now. It needs to be built with as little restrictions as possible because, Folks, what good will it be if it's not built right?

Yes, there are studies that claim it will have an environmental impact. Well, we've already got one. We've got an inlet with a man-made bridge over it, an inlet that sustains not only locals but North Carolina and the Federal Government. Hello, we've got a Coast Guard Station in that inlet!

Here's what we don't need. We don't need another environmental study. Yes, this will impact the environment. We all know that.

We don't need another committee. Committees are formed. Committees decide we need more studies. Committees waste valuable time.

We don't need politics. We don't need political parties. We don't need flyovers.

We don't need to waste any more time.

Here's what we need: We need action and we need it now. Put the legislation in action and make that jetty happen before we get to a point where it's just too late.

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